Bookbinder artistry

I've always been drawn to the decorative bindings of certain antiquarian books and have purchased books just for the binding, regardless of the authors or titles or content of the book. Sometimes it's the object that counts. Now, the University of Alabama has created an online digital display cabinet of these kinds of books so artistically bound. Click here to view.

Below are a few samples from my collection (1875 to 1906). Historic Philadelphia Mansions and A Boy's Vacation Abroad were actually purchased because I found references in them to some of my family history. Sometimes you get lucky and get the whole package!






Here's a related entry from October 2006.
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